1720–1723. c. 1750, addition. 1929, restoration. Duke of Gloucester St. west of Nassau St.
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(Photograph by Jeffrey E. Klee, courtesy of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation) -
(Photograph by Jeffrey E. Klee, courtesy of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation)
The Blair House evolved in a manner much like Wetherburn's Tavern, illustrating how close domestic and hostelry forms were in the eighteenth-century Chesapeake. This house began early in the century with two rooms flanking a stair passage, much like the BrushEverard and Tucker houses. Around mid-century a superior entertaining room was added to the west (left), with independent outside access. Improvements in finish also transformed the house, from a building entirely covered with short, split clapboards to its present refined appearance, with shingles, planed weatherboards, and classically inspired moldings.